SMC head coach Jeff Brookman figured the Pioneers would be pretty good again.

He didn't figure they would be perfect.

Yet, that's exactly what SMC has been through 21 games. The Pioneers, now ranked third in the country in NJCAA Division I, have yet to lose. They'll put that undefeated record on the line at 7 p.m. Wednesday at home in Bridges Arena against Region 10 rival Aiken Tech.

“I never would have thought we could be 21-0,” Brookman said. “But here we are.”

SMC has already set the program record for consecutive victories. There have been a few close calls, four-point wins against Clinton Junior College and USC Salkehatchie as well as a five-point affair against Brunswick. But the Pioneers have kept finding ways.

“I don't think any of us have been a part of something like this,” sophomore Jalen Nesbitt said. “It makes it fun to come to practice every day. We're using the streak as motivation, but we still feel like we have a lot to prove. So we go into every game like our record is 0-0.”

SMC is doing it with an all-South Carolina roster and many of the key players are from the Upstate. Leading scorer Ronell Crockett (13.6 points, 5.4 rebounds per game) is from T.L. Hanna in Anderson. Nesbitt (11.4 ppg., 6.8 rpg.) is from Chapman. DaQuan Jeffries (10.8 ppg., 6.2 ppg.) is a freshman from Broome. Point guard Travis Black (8.2 points and 5.5 assists per game) went to Spartanburg Christian. Ben Johnson is from Boiling Springs and Marquise Sims from Byrnes.

“You just don't see this sort of thing, especially with teams in the top 25,” said Brookman, a former Anderson University assistant in his third season at SMC. “They've either got international guys or they've got out-of-state guys. I just think that speaks volumes for what we've done and how we've done it.”

The Pioneers had a four-week holiday break from mid-December to mid-January, a month to reflect on being 15-0.

“We tried not to think about it, but that's not easy. We're doing some pretty big things right now,” Crockett said. “We've always had it in our minds to get back (to the national championship tournament). From the first practice, it was so competitive for everybody at every position. It seems like anybody could start or have a big impact.”

That has kept players well-rested and healthy, the scoring balanced with different heroes seemingly every game.

“We're real deep,” Black said. “When you come out for sub, you know the next person is going to get the job done. That's a good thing. We can just keep going and going.”

“We have a lot of talented players,” Brookman said. “It might not be the most talented team in the country, but I will tell you that there's not another that is more unselfish than we are. We have great team chemistry. They get along so well. That's the biggest reason we've been so successful. Everybody knows their role. Everybody can't score 18 or 20 points. But we have guys who are very good defensively. We have energy and effort guys. They do their jobs better than anyone else does. And when you put all that together, it's a winning combination.”

The streak will almost surely end at some point. The ranking could fall. But the hopes and expectations created by all that will continue to rise.

“You can't pay too much attention to numbers or you'll start patting yourself on the back,” Brookman said. “It's important for us to focus on the present and keep getting better every day. If we do that, hopefully, everything will take care of itself.”

<p>Spartanburg Methodist returned an experienced lineup of players who helped the team make the junior college basketball national tournament last season as freshmen.</p><p>SMC head coach Jeff Brookman figured the Pioneers would be pretty good again.</p><p>He didn't figure they would be perfect.</p><p>Yet, that's exactly what SMC has been through 21 games. The Pioneers, now ranked third in the country in NJCAA Division I, have yet to lose. They'll put that undefeated record on the line at 7 p.m. Wednesday at home in Bridges Arena against Region 10 rival Aiken Tech.</p><p>“I never would have thought we could be 21-0,” Brookman said. “But here we are.”</p><p>SMC has already set the program record for consecutive victories. There have been a few close calls, four-point wins against Clinton Junior College and USC Salkehatchie as well as a five-point affair against Brunswick. But the Pioneers have kept finding ways.</p><p>“I don't think any of us have been a part of something like this,” sophomore Jalen Nesbitt said. “It makes it fun to come to practice every day. We're using the streak as motivation, but we still feel like we have a lot to prove. So we go into every game like our record is 0-0.”</p><p>SMC is doing it with an all-South Carolina roster and many of the key players are from the Upstate. Leading scorer Ronell Crockett (13.6 points, 5.4 rebounds per game) is from T.L. Hanna in Anderson. Nesbitt (11.4 ppg., 6.8 rpg.) is from Chapman. DaQuan Jeffries (10.8 ppg., 6.2 ppg.) is a freshman from Broome. Point guard Travis Black (8.2 points and 5.5 assists per game) went to Spartanburg Christian. Ben Johnson is from Boiling Springs and Marquise Sims from Byrnes.</p><p>“You just don't see this sort of thing, especially with teams in the top 25,” said Brookman, a former Anderson University assistant in his third season at SMC. “They've either got international guys or they've got out-of-state guys. I just think that speaks volumes for what we've done and how we've done it.”</p><p>The Pioneers had a four-week holiday break from mid-December to mid-January, a month to reflect on being 15-0. </p><p>“We tried not to think about it, but that's not easy. We're doing some pretty big things right now,” Crockett said. “We've always had it in our minds to get back (to the national championship tournament). From the first practice, it was so competitive for everybody at every position. It seems like anybody could start or have a big impact.”</p><p>That has kept players well-rested and healthy, the scoring balanced with different heroes seemingly every game.</p><p>“We're real deep,” Black said. “When you come out for sub, you know the next person is going to get the job done. That's a good thing. We can just keep going and going.”</p><p>“We have a lot of talented players,” Brookman said. “It might not be the most talented team in the country, but I will tell you that there's not another that is more unselfish than we are. We have great team chemistry. They get along so well. That's the biggest reason we've been so successful. Everybody knows their role. Everybody can't score 18 or 20 points. But we have guys who are very good defensively. We have energy and effort guys. They do their jobs better than anyone else does. And when you put all that together, it's a winning combination.”</p><p>The streak will almost surely end at some point. The ranking could fall. But the hopes and expectations created by all that will continue to rise.</p><p>“You can't pay too much attention to numbers or you'll start patting yourself on the back,” Brookman said. “It's important for us to focus on the present and keep getting better every day. If we do that, hopefully, everything will take care of itself.”</p>